Six dogs are initially being trained to detect Covid-19 in passengers arriving at airports in the UK.
Dogs can do amazing things - whether they are a Support Dog, a sniffer dog, a Guide Dog or a family pet, dogs have changed the lives of millions of people around the world for the better. And now, they may be about to play a major role in the current Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Sky News, dogs from the Medical Detection Dogs charity, who have been previously trained to detect cancer, malaria and other diseases will now be receiving training to detect Covid-19 in humans.
This will be especially important for people travelling after the lockdown measures are relaxed, who may have the virus without displaying any symptoms.
According to the charity, six dogs - Norman, Digby, Storm, Star, Jasper and Asher, known as the CV-19 Super Six - should be able to detect the virus in as little as 6-8 weeks.
Dr Claire Guest, chief executive and co-founder of Medical Detection Dogs, told Sky News:
"In principle, we're sure that dogs could detect COVID-19. We are now looking into how we can safely catch the odour of the virus from patients and present it to the dogs.
"The aim is that dogs will be able to screen anyone, including those who are asymptomatic and tell us whether they need to be tested. This would be fast, effective and non-invasive and make sure the limited NHS testing resources are only used where they are really needed."
We think that this is a fantastic initiative and wish the best of luck to all involved. What did we do to deserve dogs, eh?
Feature Image credit: Sky News